In
the East, the sapphire is considered a "guiding stone"
that protects one from evil. In the West, it is a "stone
of wisdom" representing compassion, honesty, nobility
and perfection. These guiding stones are styled as a sparkling
fire that leads the lost ones out of the darkness toward their
sweet, sweet Home.

"Sooner
or later, we will have to be the torchbearers, I mean,
in spiritual fieldas well as in worldly achievements.
We will have to be the forerunners, the leaders of
the world; not in political movement,not in revolutionary
reaction, but in shining examples of sacrifice, of
love. That's how we rescue the world. That's how we
lead the world into new age, into new spirit of serving
and loving each other."

Spoken
by Supreme Master Ching Hai, Hsihu, Formosa
Apr.10,1992 (Originally in English)
Title: Leading The World To A New Era

"If
we know the root of all the problems by shining the
torch of enlightenment on all corners of life, we
tackle problems better, not in a positive way. Not
in a positive way, but in a right way- be it positive
or negative. If we are only positive, we neglect another
part of life which is very important. So, an enlightened
person knows how to handle positive and negative;
not to reject anything, but to make all things fully
useful for life and the life after. "

"There's
one light on the road side outside.
Yet, many people can use it. Thousands of people walking
by can use it. If more people use it, it's more useful.
Right? It's only a single light, but thousands of
people can see the road. This means that the light
is very useful. So although many people in this world
don't practice spirituality, it's fine as long as
we do. If no one did, it would become worse. When
the countryside doesn't have any lights it becomes
completely dark at night. If there're one or two lights,
it's better than none at all. It's very dark on the
highway. If there're several lights, we can see much
farther away. OK. Please try to practice more and
benefit yourselves and others. This is what I like
the most."